Federal judge allows release of Biden memoir audio to Heritage Foundation

A federal judge ruled that hours of audio recordings tied to former President Joe Biden's 2017 memoir can be turned over to the Heritage Foundation, rejecting his bid to block the disclosure. In a ruling June 20, the judge said Biden's privacy interests, while real, are outweighed by the public's interest in the materials and the government's obligation under FOIA to promote transparency.

The decision marks a setback for Biden, who in May sued the Department of Justice in an effort to stop the release of the recordings.

Background of the dispute The recordings stem from interviews Biden gave in 2017 to writer Mark Zwonitzer for his memoir about the death of his son, Beau Biden. The Justice Department obtained the materials during Special Counsel Robert Hur's 2023 investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.

Hur ultimately declined to bring charges in February 2024 but said Biden had shared classified materials in the context of those conversations. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, DC, filed a Freedom of Information Act request and later a lawsuit seeking access to Biden's conversations with Zwonitzer.

The group said the materials were responsive to its records request following the Hur investigation and argued they should be released under FOIA rules governing public access to government-held documents. The foundation's legal push centers on the idea that the recordings are part of the record reviewed during the special counsel probe into Biden's handling of classified information, and therefore subject to disclosure with appropriate redactions.

The judge also noted that redactions made by the Justice Department addressed sensitive material. The judge, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said she personally reviewed the redacted materials and found they contained no information about Biden's family or other private individuals.